Tick Alert!

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At approximately 9:30 pm this past Sunday, I spotted a very small black spot on my son's right thigh. I moved in to get a closer look and realized it was a tick. The experts always say that ticks are usually about the size of sesame seeds but this was much smaller than that—about the size of a pin prick. I carefully grasped it with a tweezers as close to the skin as possible and quickly pulled it out. Then I thoroughly checked the rest of his body—scalp, under the arms, behind the ears, behind the knees, between the toes, every crevice and skin fold—and found four more! Luckily they were all small—which means we caught them before they had a chance to start feeding.

The next morning I called my pediatrician who confirmed what I suspected: If the ticks weren't engorged chances are we caught them before they started feeding—and perhaps more importantly, before they had a chance to transmit Lyme disease. In fact, it takes about 24-48 hours for an infected tick to transmit the disease so doing a thorough body check soon after you've been in woody or grassy areas is key to protect against this disease. I thought that perhaps the pediatrician would give my son amoxicillin preventatively, but no. He said to wait and see if a rash appears. (The antibiotic they give to adults who suspect they've been exposed to Lyme is doxycycline.)

Now, I have to admit, this served as a harsh reminder for me to make a point of doing these checks on myself, my son and my husband regularly. I always inspect my son's body for any irregularities when I give him a bath, but making the tick check a regularly-scheduled happening also makes it less scary for little kids. My poor little guy (who's 4) was quite upset by having bugs removed from his skin. (My poor husband practically had to hold him down!)

So don't forget your daily tick checks—especially now since this is prime season for those little buggers to be out looking for a meal.